Johnson said he would be willing to sit down with Simmons, but reiterated that he would need approval from the Lakers, 76ers and the NBA before the two could meet this offseason.

"[Ben] reached out to me, not to me directly — to the Lakers — to find out if we could get together this summer," said Johnson, who is considered one of the greatest guards in NBA history.

"I said, hey, you gotta clear it with the league. Everybody, [if] the Sixers sign off, and we sign off, and the league signs off — there's not nothing going on — but he wants to know how to play the position as a big guard.

"It's fine. I will do that. But, if everybody doesn't sign off, then we can't get together."

Simmons, 22, is averaging 16.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8 assists in 2018-19. He was named an All-Star for the first time in January.